Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2003 16:27:23 -0700 (PDT)
From: Michael Bryan <mzbryan2003@yahoo.com>
Subject: JC and the Actor (Chapter 14)

JC and the Actor, Chapter 14, Copyright 2003

----------

The following story is entirely a work of fiction.  It is not meant to
imply anything about the sexuality or the personal lives of the members of
NSYNC, or any other celebrities mentioned.  If you are underage, or if it
is illegal to read sexually explicit gay material where you live, don't
read this.

Email me with your comments, questions or suggestions; I love hearing from
all of you...mzbryan2003@yahoo.com

----------

Chapter 14

	Lance stood in front of me, his back to the door.  My heart was
pounding, and I felt like I was sweating, though I'm not sure if I was.
Before Lance had the chance to say anything, I lunged toward him.  He
looked almost scared as I pushed him up against the door, pinning his arms
to his sides.  We looked into each other's eyes for a moment before I
attacked his mouth with my own.  Hungrily I kissed him and I could hear him
moan, partly from shock, partly from excitement.  Lance equaled the force
with which I kissed him, and I couldn't help but realize that Lance's face
was smoother as compared to JC's stubble.

	I grabbed Lance by his arm, and pulled him away from the door.  I
could tell that he didn't know what to expect next, though he looked ready
for anything.  I brought him toward the large chair that sat near the bed,
and roughly pushed him into it.

	"You like it rough, don't you?" he said, looking up at me and
breathing heavily.

	"Isn't this what you want?" I countered.

	"You bet," he replied with a smirk.

	I dropped down to my knees in front of him, and put my hands on his
chest.  In one swift motion, looking straight into his eyes, I tore his
dress shirt open.  He smiled at me, obviously impressed.  I could hear a
few of the buttons rolling around on the floor as I pushed my face into his
chest.  It felt warm, taught and completely smooth.  I licked up and down
the middle of his chest, looking up briefly to see the extremely pleased
expression on his face.

	"Boy, you really go for it," I heard him say from above.

	I moved to his nipples and took turns sucking on each one.  His
body tasted different from JC's, but was not at all unpleasant.  I traveled
with my tongue down his golden brown chest to his naval, and then pulled
back, my hands reaching up to his belt buckle.  I undid his belt as quickly
as possible and started unbuttoning his pants.

	"Oh yeah, that's it," he purred.

	I undid the button and unzipped his pants.  I then hooked my
fingers into his boxers in an attempt to pull them off along with his pants
in one quick motion.  However, his cock was already noticeably hard in his
shorts, making it difficult.  He thrust his pelvis out, and I pulled his
pants down.  I then eased his boxers over his cock and soon it stood before
me in all its glory.  His cock was the same golden color that he was, and
while it was not as big as JC's, it was noticeably thicker and jutted
straight up against his stomach.  His ball sack was large, and looked like
it was holding two heavy walnuts.  My hands were holding his hips as I
maneuvered myself over his cock, bringing my face toward it.

	"Go for it, do it," Lance panted.  His cock looked painfully hard.

	I moved in closer to it.  I could smell his musky, manly scent.  I
brought my lips within a half-inch of his meaty cock, and I heard a soft
moan escape his mouth as he prepared himself for what was to come.

	I paused for a moment and looked up at him.  He met my gaze with a
look of exasperation.  He wanted it bad and he wanted it now.

	"On second thought," I said suddenly, pulling myself away.  "I
don't think I want to do this."

	"What?" he said as I raised myself up to a standing position.  He
was looking back and forth between his cock and me.

	"Yeah, I don't know, it just seems wrong," I said.

	"Uh, that's kind of the point," he laughed, a bit nervous.  "You
blow me and I don't tell Josh what a horny monkey you are."

	"Hold that thought," I said, pointing at him.  "I'll be right
back."  Lance didn't respond as I left the room and ran up the stairs.  I
was back a few seconds later, and he was still sitting in the chair, his
cock soft and lying on his thigh.

	"What the fuck is going on Nate?" he asked.  He seemed like he was
getting ready for something.

	"Why Lance," I said in mock disappointment.  "Nothing is going on.
It's just that, well, I've had a lot of time to think this week, and I came
to the conclusion that I wasn't going to blow you and that you weren't
going to be telling Josh anything."

	"How do you figure?" he asked.

	I looked at him and couldn't help but smile a little.  "Do you like
movies, Lance?" I asked, withdrawing a videocassette from behind me.

	His eyes widened when he saw it, though I couldn't quite tell if he
knew what it contained.

	"No," he said calmly.

	"Oh, come on," I kidded.  "Well, I think you're going to like this
one.  Sure the camera work isn't top-notch, but the content is really
amazing."  I walked over to the TV that was in the room and popped the tape
into the VCR.  "Normally I would tell you to pull your pants up, but for
this movie you might want to leave them down."  Realizing that he was still
undressed, Lance pulled his shorts and pants up, and turned his attention
to the TV screen.

	An image of Lance popped up on the screen.  It was him getting a
blowjob from some young guy.  The guy was naked and jerking himself off at
the same time.  It was in vivid color and complete with sound.  Lance
stared at the screen, a look of horror spreading across his face.

	"You son of a bitch!" he shouted, standing up.  He made a movement
to lunge for the VCR, but stopped himself.  Apparently he was smart enough
to realize that this wasn't the only tape.

	"There are four more of these," I explained thoughtfully, gesturing
at the screen.  "They are currently on route to different parts of the
country with express instructions that they not be opened unless I say so."

	"You think you can blackmail me?" he asked angrily.  "I'll fucking
have you buried."

	"Hmm, I really don't think so Lance.  I have to tell you, for a
while there I wasn't sure what I was going to do and I thought you really
had me.  But then I came up with this idea, and while at first I thought
that it was pretty basic, I couldn't help but think that it might work
out."  He stared back at me, a million thoughts firing through his head.
"Let's see now," I continued.  "I have you on tape getting blown by this
guy, then there's you fucking some other guy who must have really been
something special since, if I remember correctly, you blew him for a bit."
Lance's fists were clenching, but he just stood there, listening to my
monologue.  "And of course there's the girl you brought home last night who
I had the toughest time trying to decide if she was over eighteen or not."
I shook my head, showing him my confusion.

	"I wonder if Josh knows what a piece of shit he has for a
boyfriend?" Lance said, trying to wound me.

	"Well, fortunately for me he's never going to know, because you are
never going to tell him."

	"The hell I won't," Lance replied.

	"Come on Lance, you're going to ruin your entire career and
reputation over me?  I'm not worth it."

	"You sure aren't," he mumbled, crossing his arms.

	"So listen," I started, stopping the tape.  "Here's the deal.  You
are going to keep your mouth shut about all of this and the other night.
You're also going to pack up your stuff and leave Josh's house
immediately."  He went to say something but I raised my hand and he
stopped.  "I love Josh, and it kills me to see him think that you are his
friend when it's clear you could give a shit about him."

	"You don't know anything about our friendship," he snapped.

	"I want you to stay away from him unless it has something to do
with work.  In return, I will agree not to have images of you fucking your
brains out plastered all over the media."

	"What if I don't care if people see it?" he asked, thinking he may
be able to back me down.

	"That's a risk I'm willing to take," I said dryly.  "Something
tells me you're not."

	Lance slumped back down into his chair, looking somewhat defeated.
I ejected the tape and started walking toward the door.  "Jesus Nate," he
said under his breath.  "You didn't have to take it all so seriously.  It
was just a game."

	I stopped and turned to him.  "Yeah, and you lost.  It had to
happen sooner or later."  Lance glared back at me and I could tell that
aside from being angry, he was hurt.  "You gave me no other choice Lance.
I thought you were a cool guy, but now I think you are seriously fucked up.
Maybe it's time you pull your shit together."  I resumed walking toward the
door.

	Lance called from behind me.  "It's funny that JC doesn't know that
the kind of person he was always trying to protect me from is lying in bed
next to him."

	I stopped and without turning around said, "That is funny, isn't
it?"  Before walking out the door I tapped my finger on a section of the
doorframe.  "Smile!" I said, referring to the tiny black camera that
blended perfectly into the dark molding.

	I headed up the stairs, unable to erase the smile from my face.  As
excited as I was, I also couldn't believe what I had just done.  I had
never thought I would ever find myself in a situation like this, much less
react the way I did to it.  Sure I didn't have to go as far with Lance as I
did, but I was an actor for God's sake.  Drama was my life.  It may not
have been the most inventive scheme, but it worked.

	I went into JC's bedroom and flopped down on the bed.  I couldn't
tell if I wanted to sleep for days, or go running.  The feeling of freedom
was incredible.  After a while, I heard Lance emerge from his room and walk
toward the garage.  Moments later I heard his car start up and he pulled
out of the garage.  He was gone.  There was no longer anything that could
come between JC and me.

----------
	By the time JC got back to the house, I had showered and changed
into a pair of jeans and a tight blue, short-sleeved dress shirt.  I was
sitting on a chair, tying my shoes when JC walked into the bedroom, pulling
off his t-shirt.  I heard a muffled, "hey" through the shirt as he pulled
it off his head.

	"You don't waste any time," I laughed, looking at the tight muscles
covering his ribs.

	"I have to shower before our big night," he replied, unbuttoning
his pants as he walked toward the bathroom.

	"Are you sure you don't want to just ravage me right here, right
now?" I called into him.

	"How did you like the tar pits?" he answered.  I guess he wasn't in
the mood for jokes.

	I told him that we didn't go, that we both realized we had a lot of
stuff to do.  It wasn't really a lie.

	"Well, you'll be back, right?" he yelled out.  I heard him turn the
shower on.

	"Of course," I said.  I could tell that he had gotten into the
shower and, feeling kind of playful, even if JC currently seemed to be all
business, I walked into the bathroom and stood by the shower.  His back was
to me as the water crashed down over his head.  I admired his impeccably
toned body, his smooth pale skin.  He turned around and nearly jumped out
of that smooth skin when he saw me standing there, smiling at him.

	"Oh my God!" he yelled.  He looked embarrassed at being caught off
guard.  "What are you doing?"

	"Just looking," I said, looking him up and down.

	"Um, ok, um, I'll be out in a minute."

	"Ok, I'll just wait here."  We were talking through the glass of
the shower and I had to stop myself from laughing at the scene.

	"You're gonna just watch me shower?" he asked, looking a little
confused.

	"Yeah, I'm pretty free for the next few minutes."  I stepped back,
conveying the feeling that I was settling down to watch the show.

	JC hesitated, looking back at me, smiling nervously.  "Um, ok,
well, I'm just gonna shower then."

	"Ok," I said cheerfully.  He stepped back under the water and
slowly resumed his bathing.  I could tell that he was trying his hardest to
seem comfortable, but that he felt completely awkward.  I watched the soap
and water drip down his body, and loved seeing his shyness when he turned
around to wash his private areas.  Occasionally I would tell him that he
had missed a spot, but he just ignored me.

	When he finished I got a towel and brought it over to him.
"Thanks," he said, opening up the shower door.

	"Thank you," I smirked.  He laughed and told me I was nuts.  He
toweled off and then went into the bedroom where he changed into a new pair
of jeans and a white, v-neck t-shirt.  He pulled his necklace out from
under his shirt and then went back into the bathroom to fix his hair.

	I asked him what the plans were, but he just gave me a look that
let me know I had no shot of finding out.

	It was around five o'clock by the time we got down to the car.  JC
had wanted to leave a bit earlier, but I kept stopping him by pushing him
down onto the bed and kissing him.  For as much fun as I was having, I knew
this was my final night in LA with him, and I didn't want it to end.

	When we got into the car, he handed me a pair of sunglasses and
told me to put them on.  When I did, I was surprised to find that the
lenses were completely blacked out, making it impossible to see out of
them.

	"Uh, Josh?" I said, wondering what he was up to.

	"I don't want you to see where we are going," he said.  "And I
thought it would look a bit scary if people saw me driving around with a
blindfolded guy.  So I had these baby's rigged up."

	"Very smart," I said.  The glasses were very large, making what
little I could see out of the sides rather irrelevant since I didn't know
the roads very well.

	We weren't driving for that long, but in LA you could be in so many
different places in less than fifteen minutes.  The car came to a stop and
JC came around to my side, opening the door for me and escorting me out.

	"This isn't going to turn into some wacked out bondage and
domination scene is it?" I asked.

	"You wish," he joked, leading me by the arm.  I felt pavement under
my feet, then grass, then more pavement.  JC stopped and turned me around,
stepping behind me.  "Are you ready?" he asked.

	I nodded and he reached up and slipped the glasses off my face.  I
was at first struck by the bright light of the sun, but as my eyes adjusted
to the outdoors, I saw that I was on a large concrete balcony overlooking a
great forest.  I knew that we had to be in either Griffith or Elysian Park,
but the outline of the trees seemed familiar from the angle at which we
were standing.

	"Where are we, Josh?" I asked, feeling his hands on my shoulders.

	"Turn around," he said.

	I turned and saw that we were standing in front of the Griffith
Park Observatory.  It was immediately recognizable, an amazing piece of
early Hollywood architecture.

	"We never made it up here the other day," JC said.  I was surprised
that he realized how much I really did want to see it.  I brought my hand
up to his face and rubbed his cheek with my thumb.

	"This is awesome Josh, thank you."

	"And this," he said, pointing to the ground.  "This is the spot
where James Dean filmed the knife fight for 'Rebel Without a Cause'."  I
turned back around and realized why the land looked so familiar.  Then I
realized something and whipped back around.

	"Wait a minute, I thought you hadn't seen the movie," I said,
looking at him.  He smiled and shifted his eyes back and forth.  "Oh my
God, this is what you were doing upstairs yesterday?  You were watching
'Rebel Without a Cause'?"

	"Well, that's not all I was doing," he answered.  "But it's like
your favorite movie, right?"

	"Yeah," I smiled, reaching over to hug him.  "I saw it when I was
twelve, and that's when I knew I would become an actor."

	We stood overlooking the park for a while, chatting and feeling
very close to each other.  When JC pulled away from the ledge, I did as
well, thinking that it was time to go to the next destination.

	"Are you ready to go in?" he asked, taking my hand and leading me
around the observatory, toward the entrance.

	"Is it open?" I asked innocently.  JC laughed and told me that it
was open just for me.  When he said that I realized that there were no
other cars in the parking lot, and no signs of anyone being around.
Apparently, for the next few hours, we owned the mountain.

	We entered the building and JC brought me into the planetarium.  It
was dim and cool when we entered.  It felt like a school trip had ended,
and we were left behind.

	"Why don't you go grab us a couple of seats," he suggested.  I
looked at him and realized he was serious.  I smiled at him, a little
confused but willing to go along with whatever he had planned.  I walked to
the middle row on the other side and sat down a few seats in.

	"Is this good?" I yelled to him.  He gave me a "thumbs up," and
walked over to the control panel.  I looked up at the huge, empty dome,
then jumped when a voice came booming out of the speakers.

	"For eons, man has gazed up at the stars wondering if he was alone
in the universe..."  JC started laughing into the microphone, unable to
continue his Leonard Nemoy impression.  "Just kidding, just kidding," he
laughed.  I was laughing in my seat, watching him fumble with the controls
while he held a piece of paper.

	Suddenly the room began to darken, and JC quickly scurried over to
me, taking the seat next to me.

	"The show is about to begin," he said, squeezing my hand.

	"You're crazy," I said to him, leaning over to give him a quick
kiss on the cheek.  "But this is really fun."  We settled low into our
seats and I leaned my head on his shoulder as the room turned to black, and
the stars slowly started to appear.  Once the sky was filled with sparkles,
the recorded voice-over began and we found ourselves learning the stories
behind all of the constellations.

	The show lasted for about a half-hour.  JC seemed to be totally
engrossed with it, and I was totally filled with the most amazing feeling
of comfort, love and companionship.  JC was genuinely interested in my
happiness.  When the show ended, the stars did not disappear, and the room
did not begin to brighten.  I could see Josh in the dim light cast by the
stars, but couldn't see much else.

	"Do you think there is something wrong with the projector?" I asked
him.  He gave me a look that said "no," and I realized that nothing about
this evening would be happening by accident.

	Josh got up and walked toward the back of the room.  I turned
around but could barely see what he was doing.  I heard some rustling and
banging, followed by a slight groan.  I was just about to call out to him
when he emerged from the darkness carrying something large under each arm
and holding what appeared to be a cooler in one hand and a large toolbox in
the other.  He also had a backpack hanging behind him.  I jumped up and
asked if he wanted some help but he shook his head and walked toward the
center of the circular room, which was empty except for the projector.  He
dropped the stuff down and I walked over to him.  I saw that what he was
carrying were two sleeping bags, which he rolled out next to each other on
the floor.

	"You won't have to worry about coyotes here," he said.  He pulled
an electric lantern out of his backpack and set it in-between the sleeping
bags.  He flipped it on and it cast a warm glow in the middle of the room.
I sat down on one of the sleeping bags, not sure if I wanted to laugh
hysterically or tell him that he was one of the most romantic people I had
ever met.  I wondered how he came up with this idea, and thought it was
really cute.

	He didn't say much as he set up our camp.  The toolbox turned out
to be a traveling grill, which he soon had fired up.

	"Josh," I said, growing a little scared when I saw the small bright
flames, "we're gonna burn down the observatory."

	"Everything is under control," he said, though he clearly looked a
little nervous himself.  "I got a special celebrity permit."  I looked back
at him, not trusting the situation.  "And there's a fire extinguisher right
over there," he reassured me, pointing over to the wall.  He opened up the
cooler, pulled out two hamburgers, and threw them on the grill.  I
nervously watched the smoke rise, hoping that alarms weren't going to start
ringing out of control.  The ceiling was very high, which I guess would
help it disperse.

	"Can I call you my little boy scout?" I asked him, lying back on
the ground.

	"Um, if you want to," he said.  He wasn't paying too much attention
to me as he watched the hamburgers with a sense of purpose and fear all at
once.  "Why don't you have some wine," he suggested, gesturing to his
backpack.  I went over to it and found a bottle and two glasses.

	"Hmm," I joked.  "There seem to be a few more items of interest in
here."

	"Never mind that stuff," he said.  I giggled and poured the wine
into both glasses, handing him one of them.  With the stars hanging above
us, and with the smell of the food, it really did look like we were out
camping.  "Everything in LA is fake," he joked, adding some pre-made French
fries to the grill.  "I just thought you should see how far it can go."

	He finished the hamburgers without any casualties, and put them in
rolls on paper plates.  I admit that I had to pretend that they tasted
good, but the company more than compensated for the cuisine.

	"I'm going to miss this pampering," I said, wiping my mouth with a
napkin.

	"Why don't you just stay," he said.  "Give your understudy the
chance of a lifetime."

	I laughed.  Even if I would have liked to, he knew I never would.
I was really looking forward to going back on the stage, but it was
bittersweet knowing that I would be seeing less of JC.  The group was now
going to be doing publicity in various cities throughout the country.  Then
there was talk about them going abroad for a while before starting up their
summer tour.  We would probably be able to see each other on a few
weekends, but after spending nearly everyday of the past two weeks
together, it was going to be tough.

	JC reminded me that it wasn't always going to be like this, that
after the tour he would probably have nothing but free time.  But the
reality was that in the middle of his touring, I would be going to Africa
and God knows where else if I started to consistently make films.  We
talked about this stuff for a while, until we realized that we were really
dampening each other's moods.  We agreed that we would somehow work it out
and resumed more fun discussions.

	We finished "dinner" and laid back on our sleeping bags.  The smell
of the food lingered only for a short while before it was replace by the
cool, clean air that pumped into the room.  I had always found planetariums
to be incredibly calming places, and now I felt that feeling stronger than
ever.  Being able to stare up at the sky without feeling creepy things
under you, or wondering where some sound was coming from certainly had its
benefits.

	We talked for hours, at one point turning off the lamp and letting
the darkness wash over us.  I could see JC's bright eyes staring at me, and
it suddenly felt like we were very far apart.

	"So listen," I started.  "If you're real quiet, maybe you can come
over and slip into my sleeping bag without the camp counselor noticing."
He laughed and he was soon sitting next to me.  "Did you really think we
were going to sleep in separate bags?" I asked him.  I was already pulling
his t-shirt over his head.

	"It was more for the look of it," he answered.  He started
unbuttoning my shirt and I soon felt his lips pressing against my chest.

	"Josh, I love you," I moaned, feeling his feathery kisses all over
my body.

	"I love you too," he said.

	He started unbuttoning my pants and soon we had fully undressed
each other.  The room had gotten quite chilly, so we slipped into the
sleeping bag and I rolled on top of him, feeling the warmth of his naked
body beneath me.  Neither of us could see that well, so we were relying
primarily on touch.  My lips never left his as I caressed his body, feeling
the short hairs on his chest, his soft nipples, his taught stomach.  His
hands ran up and down my back as my hand brushed through his trimmed pubic
hair and grasped his hard shaft.  I stroked his cock slowly, feeling my own
hard dick slide up and down his thigh.

	"Oh, Nate," he purred, slipping his tongue into my mouth.  His
hands slid down and grasped my ass, squeezing my cheeks softly.  We were
nothing but lips, hands and dicks sliding up and down, all over each other.
The darkness forced me to visualize what I was feeling, making me want him
more and more.  We kissed, nibbled, and caressed for a long time, tracing
each other's bodies with our hands, trying to memorize each muscle and
curve.

	My hands reached under JC's ass as I kissed his neck.  When my hand
approached the crack of his ass, he called softly above me, "Nate, get the
bag."  I raised myself a bit out of the sleeping bag, feeling my cock slide
up his body as I grabbed around for his backpack.  Just when I got it, I
felt him slide lower and take my cock into his mouth.

	"Ohhh," I moaned, dropping my hands down onto the ground to support
myself.  He was bobbing up and down on my shaft, squeezing my cock with his
lips and tongue.  I rocked my cock into his mouth, feeling him take it to
its base.  After a while, I started to feel a familiar sensation in my
groin and warned him that we weren't going to need the backpack if he
didn't stop.  He pulled off of me and slid back up underneath me as I sat
down over his legs.  I pulled a condom and the lube out of the bag and in
no time was rubbered, oiled and ready to go.

	I laid back down on him and he wiggled himself until he was laying
on his stomach.  He raised one of his legs to the side as my cock found his
hole and slowly pushed itself in.  My chest was pressed firmly against his
back and he moaned as I slid my entire length into him.  His leg lowered
back down underneath me and we began a slow rocking as I alternated between
leaning over to kiss him, and kissing his smooth back.

	His ass was as tight as ever, and it felt warm and slick around my
cock.  "Oh Nate," he moaned.  "I love having you inside me, filling me with
your manhood."  Our hands were locked together as we quickened our pace.
"Grab my cock," he yelled, rocking his hips against me.  "Grab my cock."

	Our legs intertwined and I moved one of my hands, grabbing both of
his with my other hand and holding them against the floor above his head.
With my free hand I reached down underneath him and grabbed his cock, which
was slick with precum.  He was happier fucking my hand rather than the
floor of the sleeping bag, and I could tell he was smiling as he pushed
himself back on my dick.  My chest was filled with sweat and easily slid up
and down his back.  I nibbled at his ear, and he began making his familiar
erratic sounds.

	We were reaching a maximum speed and I knew it would soon be over.
The sound of his ass slapping up against me was the last thing I heard
before I yelled, "Oh Josh, fuck, I'm cumming, I'm cumming!"  My balls
tightened and the cum shot out of me, filling the condom inside him.  For
the first time, I was the one making most of the noise, maybe because it
was the first time I knew no one else could hear me.  I kept fucking him
long after I knew I had stopped ejaculating, moaning and whining as I
enjoyed a dry, second orgasm.  JC's cock widened in my hand and he let out
a low, gutteral sound as he started shooting as well.  I could feel his
cock pulse with each shot.

	When he finished, he started laughing.  "Oh God," he said, wiping
the sweat off his face with his hand.  "That was so fuckin' good."  He
sighed and laid his head down.  "I am really going to miss you," he said
softly.

	"Me or my cock?" I joked, tickling his ribs.  He squirmed beneath
me and I slowly pulled out of him.

	"You're the whole package, Nate," he smiled.  I snuggled up against
him, pulling his back against my chest.

	"Thanks for taking me camping," I said, kissing his cheek.

	"You're welcome," he answered.  He gave a small yawn and settled
down against me.  We closed our eyes and were soon fast asleep.

----------
	When we woke up, we had to check our watches to see if it was
really morning.  It was around eight, so we started gathering our stuff
together.  I had an eleven o'clock flight, so I was going to have just
enough time to get back to JC's house, shower, pack, and get to the
airport.  We were both quiet on the drive back.  Neither of us was
particularly happy about my leaving.

	"When do you think you'll be able to come to New York?" I asked him
as we neared his house.

	"I'm not sure," he answered.  "Maybe in like two weeks?  It's kind
of up to Johnny if we go to Europe or not."

	I didn't ask him any more questions.  Part of me wanted him to say
that he was just going to drop everything and come with me, but I had to
remind myself that what I liked about our relationship was that we were two
individuals who had our own directions in life.  Sometimes it sounded
better than it felt.

	We both showered and I threw my things into my suitcase.  Then it
was off to the airport.

	JC got a call from Justin, then Joey, then Chris.  All of them
sounded like they were flipping out over some miscommunication that was
going to make them have to leave later in the day to perform in Las Vegas
later tonight.  JC told them that he was taking me to the airport, and they
told him to wish me well.

	Sure enough, Lance was his fourth call, and I braced myself when I
heard his muffled voice on the other end of the line.  After JC told him
where we were headed, he handed me the phone.  I stared at it, not wanting
to take it.

	"Lance wants to say goodbye to you," he said.

	I smiled politely and took the phone from him.  "Hello?" I said
into the receiver.

	"Hey Nate, just wanted to wish you well on your flight back."

	"Thanks," I said, wondering if JC could notice how unenthusiastic
my voice sounded.

	"I really underestimated you, didn't I?" he asked cheerfully.

	"I guess so," I answered.

	"Well, you play a good game," he continued, his voice lowering.
"And just between you and me, I was so turned on after you walked out of
the room yesterday that I had to jack off before I left."

	"Thanks for calling," I said, ready to hang up.  I wondered if
Lance was the kind of person that just couldn't be defeated.  He laughed to
himself, then told me to take care of myself.  He hung up and I handed the
phone back to JC.

	When we pulled up to the terminal, my heart skipped a beat as I
realized our united bliss was over.

	"Um," I started, grabbing my bag from the backseat.  JC was just
staring ahead, his grip tightening on the steering wheel.

	"I know that we are going to see each other again, but, I, uh, I
really don't like goodbyes," he said.

	"Do you want me to just leave?" I asked, not sure what I was
supposed to do.

	He turned his face toward me.  "Is this going to work out?" he
asked sternly.

	"Josh, I've never dated someone who wasn't around all the time."

	"I've always been that person," he said, his eyes slowly
moistening.  "And I've always been left in the end."

	"Josh," I said, raising my hand to his shoulder.  "I'm not leaving
you.  It's going to be ok, we're going to have to make sure it is."

	He nodded, and I wiped the tear traveling down his face with my
thumb.  I leaned over and kissed him.  It did feel like something was
ending, but I just kept telling myself that it wasn't.

	"I really love you," he said, looking directly into my eyes.  I was
tempted to tell him that I just wouldn't go, but I couldn't.

	"I love you too," I said, I leaned over and we embraced.  To anyone
else it may have seemed like we were overreacting, but to us it seemed
right.  "I'll call you when I land."

	I gave him one last kiss.  "You better get out of here before
somebody recognizes you," I said.  I opened the door and stepped out,
closing it behind me.  I didn't look back as I entered the airport.  I
couldn't.


To be continued